OSTERVILLE · AUGUST 2026
Travel Talk Six trends we are seeing, and the places worth knowing about now.
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Last-minute travel + new non-stops
Antarctica
Slow travel
New openings
European ski
Wellness
A NOTE TO OPEN
Every year when I return from the Virtuoso Travel Conference, it is exciting to share the trends we're seeing and the special finds we've made. Collectively, my team and I attend about ten conferences a year - some boutique and invitation-only, others vast. Everything we gather in those rooms comes home with us, into every journey we design.
-Teresa Chope
Even in the world of AI, the real work comes down to three things. Taste
Relationships
Execution
Sifting through limitless options with a
The years of trust that produce the latest
Local partners who are not only reliable
discerning eye, so what we recommend is
intel, access to unique and authentic
but responsive the moment something
truly special, authentic, not overrun - and
experiences, the best guides, and the best
changes - because on a great trip,
right for that particular traveler.
rooms in the house.
something usually does.
TREND ONE
The window has gotten shorter
NEW NONSTOPS
New York — Catania Delta
Last year, requests for summer arrived about a month out. This year, people come to us ten days to two weeks out. If four to seven days suddenly open up, don't rule out doing something really special -
New York & Boston — Porto Delta & TAP
with the right access and the right information, it can be done. Part of what enables this are the new nonstop flights. Five or six hours in the air, and a journey that once felt too complicated becomes very doable.
New York — Sydney Qantas - Coming in 2027
FIVE DAYS, THIS FALL
Porto & the Douro Take the overnight nonstop from Boston and you're in Porto by early morning. Two or three nights at The Largo, an eighteen-key property in old Porto that is a case study in quiet luxury - discreet, with a rooftop plunge pool over the city and a private boat for cruises on the Douro - exclusively for hotel guests. Then a short drive up to the Six Senses Douro Valley, a historic quinta converted into one of the most luxurious stays in Portugal: a masterclass in Portuguese wine, an exceptional spa, and the vineyards below you.
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TREND TWO
Cool climates, and the pull of the far south Travel to the cooler climates of Alaska, British Columbia, Norway, Finland, Greenland, the Arctic and especially Antarctica are on the rise. Conservation is a huge part of these itineraries, and as a result the wildlife is extraordinary - curious and playful. Penguin colonies came so close we had to move away to keep the 10 feet. Humpbacks breached feet from the Zodiacs. The ships are polar-rated and built with luxury in mind, so comfort is never the trade.
-Cara Castelli (our in-house Antarctica expert)
Edit
“I woke one morning, stepped onto my balcony, and was met with complete silence. Nothing but mountains of ice stretching across the horizon.” Antarctica is one of the few places left on Earth where you truly get a sense of what the world looks like untouched by humans. It is humbling, emotional, and almost impossible to describe until you've experienced it for yourself. CARA CASTELLI
TREND THREE
Slow Travel: The Orient Express The Belmond trains have captured everyone's imagination - the Venice Simplon-OrientExpress crossing Europe, the Royal Scotsman winding through the Highlands. Most exciting is what Orient Express is doing: reimagining the brand across hotels, rail, and now yachting, while preserving the sense of occasion that made it iconic.
La Dolce Vita | Train
Corinthian | Yacht
Elegant cabins, beautiful dining, cocktails
A sailing yacht of just 54 suites and a little
in the lounge car, and conversations that
over a hundred guests. Distinctly modern,
last longer because no one is rushing to
still carrying the romance of the golden
the next destination. Italy the way it was
age of travel - intimate and glamorous
meant to be experienced.
rather than simply a way between places.
La Dolce Vita lounge car, or the Corinthian under sail
TREND FOUR
Three openings worth knowing about now Part of our job is knowing where to be before a place becomes either overrun or overlooked. The major brands will open almost 700 new hotels across 2026–27, among them about 125 five-star properties already getting press around the world.
Giudecca / Airelles Palladio
Noto / Palazzo Castelluccio interiors
Botswana / Singita Elela concession
VENICE
SICILY
BOTSWANA
Airelles Palladio
Palazzo Castelluccio
Singita Elela
Airelles' first property outside France, on
Rocco Forte in Noto - an eighteenth-century
Singita's first lodge in Botswana opens this
Giudecca in the restored Palladio complex:
palazzo of thirty-one rooms. The original
December, and our team has already visited
three historic buildings, a sixteenth-century
1782 ceramic floors restored beneath blue
the concession. It will elevate the standard
church, gardens, and a view across the water
silk walls, crystal chandeliers, and trompe
for game viewing and accommodation in
to St. Mark's.
l'œil guest rooms.
the region.
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TREND FIVE
February break, reconsidered A week in the Alps can cost meaningfully less than a week in Aspen or Vail - often with the airfare covered by the difference. Lift tickets run a fraction of U.S. walk-up prices, and ski-in hotels with half-board would be trophy properties in Colorado. Villages centuries older than the sport itself. Mountain
Alpine village or mountain lunch — Lech, or South Tyrol
lunches that are the point of the day. Skiing valley to valley - sometimes country to country - on one pass. Nonstops to Geneva, Zurich, and Milan make the transfer shorter than Denver to Vail on a Saturday.
Pepper Collection, Lech
Austria
Goldene Rose Karthaus
Italy
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TREND SIX
Wellness gets personal Most people still picture wellness travel as spa robes and green juice. That is not what it is anymore. People aren't just trying to relax - they want to feel better, think more clearly, sleep better, recover faster, and live longer. The mindset has shifted from reactive, something you did after burning out, to proactive, something you do before something breaks. The depth of what's available has changed with it: longevity clinics doing full biomarker testing, recovery programs built around sleep and nervous-system regulation, hormone-focused retreats, altitude training, cognitive performance work woven into a resort stay. Less anti-aging in the cosmetic sense; more healthspan over lifespan.
$6.8T
GLOBAL WELLNESS ECONOMY
$900B
WELLNESS TRAVEL ALONE
WELLNESS · FOUR WAYS IN
The question is no longer where is the best — it's what's right for me Relaxation & Recharge
Longevity & Preventive
Active Adventure
Life Transition
Recharges through movement
Navigating something significant,
Genuinely depleted and in need
Feels fine, but wants data: full-
rather than stillness — hiking,
and looking for a reflective trip.
of rest, not a packed itinerary.
body scans, biomarkers,
altitude, surf.
hormone panels. AMANPURI, PHUKET
CLINIQUE LA PRAIRIE
RANCHO LA PUERTA, BAJA
A five-star reputation doesn't mean a five-star fit. What decides whether someone leaves feeling different, rather than just relaxed for a weekend, is whether the program matched their goals, their personality, and how they actually live.
EUPHORIA RETREAT, GREECE
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TRAVELING TOGETHER
One roof, three generations A family came to us and said, in essence: we want everyone under one roof, we don't want to see another guest all week, and once we arrive nobody touches a car. The answer wasn't a hotel. It was a castle in the Scottish Highlands, taken in its entirety. Scottish Highlands — the estate, or the one long table
It doesn't mean renting a very large house. It means that for one week the entire staff of the estate works for one family. By the second morning, the chef knows which grandchild won't touch mushrooms. The days were designed for each of them; the dinners for all of them. One table, every night — that table is the point of the trip. And something happens in a place like that which almost never happens anymore: the phones go in a drawer, and nobody minds.
WHO WE ARE
The Team Behind the Journey We are a collaborative team of specialists with a global network and deep local partnerships that allow us to deliver on virtually any request, anywhere in the world.
The Broader Team
Travel Design & Lifestyle Team
Teresa Ford Chope FOUNDER & CEO
MULTI-GENERATIONAL · CELEBRATIONS · LONG-RANGE PLANNING
Connor Gribbon STRATEGY & PARTNERSHIPS FAMILY OFFICES · FAMILY ENTERPRISE · EUROPE
Ann Tool TRAVEL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE SAFARI · FAMILY · SKI · ADVENTURE · CULINARY
Cara Castelli
Kristiana Tarnuzzer
Andrea Anderson
TRAVEL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
SR. TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE ADVISOR
ANTARCTICA · YACHTING & CRUISING · ITALY & EUROPE · GLOBAL EVENTS
WELLNESS · ASIA · UK & EUROPE · SOUTH AMERICA
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Allison D’Ambrosio TRAVEL DESIGNER CARIBBEAN · OCEANIA · UK · SOUTH AMERICA · GLOBAL EVENTS
Sade Wallace TRAVEL DESIGNER NATIONAL PARKS · CARIBBEAN · SPAIN & EUROPE
Jolie Johnson CONTROLLER
Jim Mercado EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR
Alecia Nagle PROJECT MANAGER
Cristina Florez MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Thank you for joining us. We hope you found a few ideas worth returning to, and perhaps one that surprised you. More than anything, we hope you came away inspired, and a little more curious about where your next journey might take you. When you are ready to discuss, we are here. Whether you have a question, are curious about your next journey, or want to dive deeper into any of these trends, we would love to hear from you. Reach any of us directly, or write to inquiries@gallivantltd.com and someone will be in touch.